ValkeyNode

ValkeyNode represents a single member (one pod) of a Valkey cluster managed by the Momento Valkey Operator. The operator creates, mutates, and deletes these resources itself; they are documented here because you will see them with kubectl and they are useful for observing cluster transitions.

info

ValkeyNode is operator-internal and read-only for users. Do not create, edit, or delete ValkeyNode resources. To change a node's configuration, change the owning ValkeyCluster or its ValkeyConfig: the operator replaces nodes to converge on the change.

Resource metadata

API group/version	valkey.gomomento.com/v1alpha1
Kind	ValkeyNode
Plural	valkeynodes
Scope	Namespaced

Each ValkeyNode is owned by a ValkeyCluster and is deleted with it. The node's name ({cluster} plus a random suffix) is also the name of the pod and configuration ConfigMap the operator creates for it.

Spec

The spec is immutable by design: the operator never updates a node's configuration in place. When a node becomes outdated (a new image, changed resources or Valkey settings, or changed placement), the operator creates a replacement ValkeyNode and retires the old one. The single exception is lifecycle, the one mutable field, which the operator moves through the join/leave process.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Validation	Description
clusterName	string	Yes	—	none	Name of the owning ValkeyCluster.
image	string	Yes	—	none	Container image as repository:tag, already resolved from the config's ValkeyImage, not a reference.
cpu	string	No	—	none	CPU request and limit, copied from the resolved config.
memory	string	No	—	none	Memory request and limit, copied from the resolved config.
valkeySettings	map of string to string	No	{}	none	Valkey configuration key-value pairs with the operator's forced settings baked in.
shardIndex	integer	Yes	—	Minimum 0.	Operator-assigned scheduling index, propagated as a pod label so topology spread constraints keep each shard's nodes on separate hosts and across zones. Not the Valkey shard ID.
tlsSecret	string	No	—	none	Name of the TLS Secret mounted at /etc/valkey/tls/. Set when the owning cluster has TLS enabled.
placement	object (same shape as ValkeyCluster Placement)	No	—	none	Placement constraints copied from the owning cluster when the node is created. A later change to the cluster's zones or nodeSelector makes existing nodes outdated, driving a rolling replacement onto the new placement.
lifecycle	string (enum)	No	Active	One of Active, Joining, Leaving.	The one mutable field: where this node is in the cluster join/leave process. Joining: being added to the Valkey cluster; Active: a full member; Leaving: being drained and retired.

Watching lifecycles is a practical way to observe a bootstrap or rolling replacement:

kubectl get valkeynodes -n my-app -w

NAME               CLUSTER      IMAGE                LIFECYCLE
my-cluster-3f9a1   my-cluster   valkey/valkey:9.0.1   Active
my-cluster-8c04d   my-cluster   valkey/valkey:9.0.1   Joining
my-cluster-b52e7   my-cluster   valkey/valkey:9.0.1   Leaving

Status

The operator samples utilization every 30 seconds and publishes measurements in each ValkeyNode's status. Inspect them with kubectl get valkeynodes -n my-app -o yaml. See Autoscaling for the measurements and scaling rules. Use kubectl explain valkeynode.status --recursive for the installed schema.

Printer columns

kubectl get valkeynodes shows:

Column	Source
Cluster	.spec.clusterName
Image	.spec.image
Lifecycle	.spec.lifecycle

References and referenced by

• References its owning ValkeyCluster via spec.clusterName (and an owner reference), and a TLS Secret via spec.tlsSecret when TLS is enabled.
• Owns the pod and the node ConfigMap that carry its name.
• Referenced by no user-facing resource.

Example

A ValkeyNode as created by the operator for the TLS-enabled cluster my-cluster (shown for reading, not for applying):

apiVersion: valkey.gomomento.com/v1alpha1
kind: ValkeyNode
metadata:
  name: my-cluster-3f9a1
  namespace: my-app
  # ownerReferences to the ValkeyCluster omitted
spec:
  clusterName: my-cluster
  image: valkey/valkey:9.0.1
  cpu: "1"
  memory: "2Gi"
  shardIndex: 0
  tlsSecret: my-cluster-tls
  placement:
    zones:
      - us-east-1a
      - us-east-1b
    zoneSpread: required
  valkeySettings:
    cluster-enabled: "yes"
    maxmemory: "1500mb"
    # ... remaining settings from the resolved config plus forced settings
  lifecycle: Active